RFA Tim Berni looking to head back home to Switzerland?
Aaron Portline: The Columbus Blue Jackets released defenseman Tim Berni from his PTO on Thursday. Have heard that he is considering returning back to Switzerland. He is an unsigned RFA and took the PTO to keep his options open.
Cap Friendly: “Because #CBJ qualified him back in June, if Berni were to return home to play in Europe he would remain on the club’s reserve list and Columbus would hold on to his signing rights until he became eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2027.”
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William Nylander is okay with in-season extension talks but he doesn’t want to hear about it until it’s almost done
Jonas Siegel of The Athletic: William Nylander mentioned to The Athletic this week that it’s okay if his agent, Lewis Gross, continues to talk in-season with the Toronto Maple Leafs about a contract extension. Nylander doesn’t want to hear about though until they are at the finish line with it.
So it seems that Nylander has a dollar figure in mind and doesn’t want to hear about it until they get to it.
Nylander would be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Mitch Marner is eligible for a contract extension on July 1st. If Nylander isn’t re-signed and hits the open market, it would give Marner more leverage.
The Leafs obviously don’t want to lose Nylander for nothing after the season. Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving will need to decide that if they haven’t reached an extension by the trade deadline, do they look at trading him. Nylander has a 10-team no-trade clause.
Teams looking to win the Stanley Cup usually don’t trade star players at the deadline. Treliving held onto Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary, only to lose him to the Columbus Blue Jackets in free agency.
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The cap his going up next season, when a Nylander extension would kick in. The following year John Tavares‘ $11 million cap hit comes off the books.